Coordinates: 18°26′22″N 066°00′07″W / 18.43944°N 66.00194°W / 18.43944; -66.00194

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
View of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
IATA: SJU – ICAO: TJSJ – FAA: SJU
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Puerto Rico Ports Authority
Serves		San Juan
Location		Carolina, Puerto Rico
Hub for		American Eagle
Elevation AMSL		9 ft / 3 m
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
8/26	10,002	3,049	Asphalt
10/28	8,016	2,443	Concrete
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft operations			217,434
Based aircraft			107
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (IATA: SJU, ICAO: TJSJ, FAA LID: SJU) is a public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico (an insular area of the United States), three miles (five kilometers) southeast of San Juan. The airport receives over 10 million passengers per year making it the busiest airport in the Caribbean in terms of movement of passengers, and it is the most important airport in the Caribbean in terms of cargo. It is owned and managed by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.

Contents 1 History 2 Operations 3 Terminals and airlines 4 Future Airlines 5 Air Charters 6 Military/cargo ramps 6.1 Military ramp 7 Cargo services 8 Airport expansion 9 Incidents and accidents 10 Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Pop Culture 11 References 12 External links

[edit] History

The airport opened in May 22, 1955. Located in the area known as Isla Verde, the airport was for many decades known as Isla Verde International Airport, until 1985, when then Governor Rafael Hernández Colón decided to name it after Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first democratically elected governor.^{[citation needed]}

The airport served as a Caribbean hub for Pan Am, Trans Caribbean Airways, Eastern Air Lines, and a short lived focus city for TWA. It was also the hub of Puerto Rico's international airline, Prinair from 1966 until 1984, when Prinair went bankrupt. In 1986, American Airlines (along with American Eagle) established a hub in the airport to compete with Eastern Air Lines. In the past, the airport has been served by Mexicana, Lufthansa, Air France, ACES Colombia, British Airways, Air Jamaica, Viasa, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Dominicana De Aviacion, and ATA Airlines.^[2].

Substantial efforts by the current administration to secure service to new destinations in Europe and other areas of Latin America, have so far yielded only one new future airline. This is probably due to the current state of the airline industry. Also, the rise of regional airports in Ponce and Aguadilla, have caused a dent to existing air service which certainly hasn't helped expand current service. All that put aside, routes to/from San Juan remain top performers for the airlines that do operate here.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Operations

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is the island's main international gateway and its main connection to the United States. Domestic flights fly between Carolina and other local destinations, including Aguadilla, Culebra, Mayagüez, Ponce and Vieques. The airport offers rapid access to San Juan, the island's capital through the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge.

The airport serves as the Caribbean hub for American Eagle.^[3] American's hub operations were truncated by over 50 percent (from 38 to 18 daily inbound flights) on September 3, 2008. The airport serves as a focus city for American Airlines.^[4][5] Recently, American Eagle announced it would be adding 109 weekly flights throughout the Caribbean. The new flights will begin on May 1, 2009.^[6] As of today, Executive Airlines, under the American Eagle name is the largest operator and employer in Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, with a total of 45 daily flights.

[edit] Terminals and airlines

The Luis Muñoz Marín Airport has one main terminal building with four concourses and a new terminal building which will have one concourse.

The landside area of the main terminal building is divided into three distinct ticket counter areas: the American Airlines area, the Continental Airlines and Delta Airlines area, and a large counter area containing all the other airlines. The American Airlines area is nearest to concourses D and E, the Continental and Delta area is nearest to concourse C and the remaining area is nearest to concouse B.

The original airport design had a different layout which consisted of three terminals B, C and D. New signing around the airport changed this.

Note: Gates 1A - 1F and gates 2 - 5 in concourse E are currently vacant due to American Airlines' San Juan hub cuts.

Airlines	Destinations	Concourse
Air Canada	Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson [seasonal]	B
Air Sunshine	St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, Vieques, Virgin Gorda	B
AirTran Airways	Atlanta, Baltimore, Orlando	B
American Airlines	Baltimore, Boston, Caracas, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Hartford, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-JFK, Philadelphia, Tampa, Santo Domingo, Washington-Dulles	D, E
American Eagle (operated by Executive Airlines)	Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Beef Island, Dominica, Fort-de-France, Grenada [seasonal], La Romana, Nevis, Pointe-à-Pitre, Port of Spain, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas	D
Cape Air	Mayagüez, Ponce, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, Vieques	B
Continental Airlines	Cleveland [seasonal], Houston-Intercontinental, Newark	C
Copa Airlines	Panama City	C
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta, New York-JFK	B
Iberia	Madrid, Santo Domingo [seasonal]	C
Insel Air	Curaçao, St. Maarten	C
JetBlue Airways	Boston, Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK, Orlando, Santo Domingo, Washington-Dulles [seasonal]	C
LIAT	Antigua, Beef Island (Tortola), Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St.Vincent	B
Northwest Airlines	Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul [all seasonal]	B
PAWA Dominicana	Punta Cana, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo	C
Spirit Airlines	Fort Lauderdale, Orlando	C
United Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare, St. Thomas, Washington-Dulles	B
US Airways	Boston, Charlotte, Philadelphia	B
Vieques Air Link	Vieques	B
Virgin Atlantic Airways	Antigua, London Gatwick	C

[edit] Future Airlines

Airlines	Destinations
City Link Air	Jacksonville [begins early 2010][7]
MexicanaClick	Cancún [original date of start changed to 2010][8]
Sun Country Airlines	Minneapolis/St. Paul [begins January 31, 2010][9]

[edit] Air Charters

Airlines	Destinations
Air France	Guadeloupe
Allegiant Air	Las Vegas
Avianca	Bogotá
Condor	Frankfurt
Expressjet	Punta Cana, Santo Domingo-Las Americas
Mexicana	Mexico City
Miami Air	Varies, depending on the tour operator
Omni Air International	Varies, depending on the tour operator
Ryan International Airlines	Atlanta, Chicago-O'Hare, Miami, Milwaukee, Orlando, Tampa
TACA Costa Rica	San José de Costa Rica
Skyservice	Toronto, Montreal
Sun Country Airlines	Minneapolis/St. Paul
Thomson Airways	London-Gatwick, Manchester
USA 3000 Airlines	Punta Cana
USA Jet Airlines	Punta Cana, Santo Domingo-Las Americas

[edit] Military/cargo ramps

[edit] Military ramp

• United States Air Force
  • Air National Guard
• Puerto Rico Air National Guard
  • Muniz ANGB
    • 156th Airlift Wing

[edit] Cargo services

• ABX Air
• Ameriflight
• Amerijet International
• Arrow Air
• Capital Cargo International Airlines
• Centurion Air Cargo
• DHL
• FedEx Express
• Four Star Aviation
• Roblex Aviation
• Tampa Cargo
• Tradewinds Airlines
• UPS Airlines

[edit] Airport expansion

As of 2008, the airport has been receiving major upgrades, including a new concourse (Concourse A), pavement and apron expansions, new light systems, press conference rooms, and new fast food franchises along its corridors.

Over $400 million will be used to expand the airport facilities through 2011. The new concourse is expected to open in early 2010.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

• On February 15, 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 that was flying to Isla Verde crashed shortly after takeoff from Las Américas International Airport in Punta Caucedo, Dominican Republic, near Santo Domingo, killing everyone on board, including Puerto Rico's national women's volleyball team and Dominican Carlos Cruz, a former world boxing champion who was going to San Juan for a rematch with Carlos Ortiz. See: Dominicana DC-9 air disaster
• On June 24, 1972, Prinair Flight 191, which took off from Isla Verde Airport, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport in Ponce.
• On December 31 of that same year, baseball star Roberto Clemente and his companions died when their DC-7 crashed soon after takeoff from Isla Verde during a relief flight bound for Nicaragua. Neither the bodies of the victims nor the plane's wreckage were ever found.
• In 1983, a hijacked Alitalia DC-10 landed at this airport, under orders by the hijacker.
• In 1985, an American Airlines DC-10 taking off from Muñoz Marín to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas overran the runway and nosedived into a nearby lake. There were no injuries. [4]
• 24 September 1998 - Trans-Florida Airlines Convair 240-13 (N91237) had an engine problem on take-off. It attempted to return to the airport, but lost altitude and was force landed in a salt water lagoon some 2 miles short of the runway. The aircraft was written off, but the two crew and one passenger were uninjured.^[10]
• On May 9, 2004 an American Eagle Super ATR, flight 5401, crash-landed when one of the tires popped. Seventeen people were injured, but no fatalities.

[edit] Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Pop Culture

• In the 1982 movie, Conexión Caribe, music group Los Chicos arrived at the Luis Muňoz Marín International Airport from the Dominican Republic onboard an Oceanair airplane.
• Music group Menudo recorded a music video for their song "Claridad", in 1981 at the nearby Isla Verde Beach in Piňones. An Lockheed L-1011 aircraft are seen landing at Luis Muňoz Marín International Airport in the video.

[edit] References

1. ^ FAA Airport Master Record for SJU (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-03-15
2. ^ [1] retrieved 10/31/2009
3. ^ Official AMR Website Profile with Hub List retrieved 5/27/2008
4. ^ http://www.caribbeanlogue.com/american-airlines-reducing-caribbean-flights.html
5. ^ American Airlines, American Eagle Cut Flights to Caribbean - Business - redOrbit
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ City Link Air retrieved 2009
8. ^ [In spanish] Mexicana introduces new Cancun routes
9. ^ [3]
10. ^ Aviation Safety Network retrieved 27 November 2006

[edit] External links

• Luis Minoz Marin International Airport

• FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 19 Nov 2009
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for TJSJ
  • ASN accident history for SJU
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker for TJSJ
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations for TJSJ
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for SJU
  • Airport information for TJSJ at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.

v • d • e Airports in Puerto Rico International Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) · Mercedita Airport (PSE) · Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) Regional Antonio (Nery) Juarbe Pol Airport (ABO) · Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) · Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) · Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ) · Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) · José Aponte de la Torre Airport (RVR) Closed Diego Jiménez Torres Airport (X95) · Dorado Airport · Humacao Airport (X63)